Hamburg – Lübeck

From Hanseatic city to Hanseatic city

Three well-developed bike paths ensure that you will have a wonderful bike tour in northern Germany. Follow the North Sea Cycle Route from Hamburg along the Elbe to Brunsbüttel. Ship watching in Brunsbüttel, that should be on your program. The dream-ship season lasts from spring to autumn, as more than 100 luxury liners, sometimes several a day, pass through the Kiel Canal every year. Large ships, high as a multi-storey house glide past you majestically and you cycle on the canal cycle path with pleasure from the North Sea to Kiel on the Baltic Sea. And in between, you have to try the original Glückstädter Matjes. Look forward to the Baltic Sea and the well-signposted Baltic Sea Cycle Route, which takes you from one seaside resort to the next. White sandy beaches, colorful beach chairs, thatched cafés,seaside resorts, exclusive restaurants and impressive piers are waiting for your visit. The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is waiting for you to conclude your bike tour. Lübeck is unique and simply wonderful. The cityscape was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987.

1. day Hamburg Arrival

Arrive early, a worthwhile harbor cruise awaits you today. Experience the vibrant city of Hamburg, marvel at the largest model railway in the world in the Speicherstadt and smell exotic spices in the Spice Museum. How to get there: There are cheaper parking options in Lübeck (DB direct train 45 min.).

2. day Hamburg - Elmshorn / Glückstadt 62 - 84 km

You cycle in a good mood through the Hamburg suburbs of Blankenese and Wedel. "Welcome to Hamburg, we look forward to welcoming you to the Port of Hamburg." This is how it echoes several times a day over the Elbe when a larger ship passes the Willkomm Höft, Wedel's most famous attraction. Here at the Schulauer Fährhaus all incoming and outgoing ships with a measurement of over 1000 Grosstons are greeted with their national anthem and in their national language. After an interesting break you cycle on the North Sea Coast Cycle Path through the Elbe marshland, which is protected by dykes, to Elmshorn.

3. day Elmshorn / Glückstadt - Brunsbüttel/ Surrounding area approx. 36 - 58 km

On the way to your first destination in the North Sea, you will take a break in the picturesque town of Glückstadt - the king's dream on the Elbe. Stroll through the old town and try the original Glückstädter Matjes. Then you roll comfortably to Brunsbüttel, the city at the mouth of the Kiel Canal. Majestic, close enough to touch and yet unstoppable, the snow-white luxury yachts glide through the Brunsbüttel locks, where there are ideal vantage points as well as beautiful restaurants and cafés (accommodation in Brunsbüttel only cat. B).

4. day Brunsbüttel - Rendsburg 65 km

Today you cycle along the Kiel Canal, the most used artificial waterway in the world. Via Hochdonn with its worth seeing double-railed railway bridge (a 2218 m long lattice construction) to the lovable town of Rendsburg, which is over 800 years old. Stroll through the historic old town, marvel at the railway bridge and take a seat on the promenade on Europe's longest bank (571.53 m), a box seat directly on the Kiel Canal.

5. day Rendsburg - Schönberg / surrounding app 83 km + ferry

Cycle one last time with the passing ships on the Kiel Canal-Radweg before you reach Kiel. Go on a discovery tour: modern architecture, centuries-old buildings, maritime museum, the old town of Kiel, the Holstenstraße with its shops, boutiques and general stores, the brewery, a boat trip on the Kiel Fjord, Kiel has so much to offer! After a rewarding break you cycle on the Baltic Coast Cycle Route to the Baltic Sea resort of Schöneberg with its beautiful white gently sloping sandy beach. Take a look at Omas Kaffeestuuv, a rustic, thatched-roof café directly behind the dike.

6. day Schönberg - Heiligenhafen/ Großenbrode approx. 68 - 77 km

Look forward to an exciting bike route through the Hohwacht Bay, which offers miles of sandy beaches and a 20 meter high cliff. Discover grand estates in the hinterland and pretty seaside resorts. You cycle via Weißenhäuser Strand to Heiligenhafen with the old fishing port and the adventure pier.

7. day Heiligenhafen/ Großenbrode - Neustadt/ Surrounding area approx. 60 - 81 km

Today you cycle to Lübeck Bay and past the Baltic seaside resorts of Dahme and Kellenhusen to Grömitz. Look forward to one of the oldest and largest baths at the Baltic Sea. Plan time for the 4 km long promenade in a class of its own, past the new Baltic Sea lounge, shops and restaurants, before cycling on to Neustadt, a small town in Holstein. Overnight in Neustadt / surroundings.

8. day Neustadt - Lübeck 42 - 62 km + Departure

The best bathing opportunities, cafes, restaurants, boutiques and shops are now lined up in a colorful row. Mostly along white sandy beaches and tempting beach promenades you cycle via Haffkrug, Scharbeutz and Timmendorf to Travemünde. You can comfortably shorten the last leg to Lübeck with the S-Bahn before your eventful bike tour ends in Lübeck in the afternoon.

Worth knowing

Below you will find specific information about theHamburg - Lübeck bike trail and surroundings. If you have further questions about this trip, you simply call us: Phone: 06421 – 886890.

Arrival by train

Hamburg is easily accessible by train. We recommend to take a taxi from the station to get to our partner hotels in Hamburg Current schedule information and price information can be found at: www.bahn.de.

Train schedule information

Parking facilities at the hotel

parking house Hamburg/ Altona charging fee 12,- euro/day

detailed information on parking at your hotel, you will receive together with the detailed travel documents two weeks prior to departure.

Condition of cycle paths

You cycle mostly on cycle paths and rarely travelled side roads, seldom you bike on hiking and country trails.

Available rental bikes

There are 8-speed gear shift bikes (ladies and gentlemen) with gearhub, 24-speed gear shift freewheel bikes (ladies and gentlemen) and 8-speed elctronic bikes available. Wheels with low access and children's bikes are available on request. 

Extra costs that are not included in the tour price

Any tourism tax that may arise is not part of the tour price and must therefore be paid on site at the hotel. The use of the rental bikes during additional nights is possible for a surcharge. Please state this request when booking.

7 days hotline service

Just in case the bike chain breaks, flooding makes it impossible to continue your tour or any other nasty surprise: You can reach us seven days a week and we will do anything to help you as fast as possible.

Passport and visa requirements

For EU citizens, there are no special passport or visa requirements and no health formalities to be considered for this trip.

Travel insurance

The tour price already includes the statutory insolvency insurance. In addition, we recommend that you take out travel cancellation insurance upon receipt of your travel confirmation in order to protect yourself against financial disadvantages in the event of travel cancellation, interruption of travel, illness or accident.

Hamburg

Hamburg, gateway to the world, the beautiful, the highlight of the north: The green city on the water is considered one of the most beautiful cities in Germany. In the following link you may find the top 10 attractions (and more)

Hamburg

old Elb tunnel

When the old Elbe tunnel, also called the "St. Pauli Elbtunnel," was opened in 1911, it was a technical sensation. Today it is a nostalgic and lovingly part of Hamburg's history.

A slightly different idea for a walk: After crossing the tunnel, from the southern bank of the Elbe you can enjoy an unforgettable panorama overlooking the harbor edge, the Michel and the "Rickmer Rickmers".

Old Elbe tunnel

Elbphilharmonie

 A work of art made of breathtaking architecture, excellent music and a unique location in Hamburg. Where the Elphilharmonie stands today, there used to be another landmark of the city - the Kaispeicher A. An imposing building in neo-Gothic style with a tower that can be seen from afar. A very special tower clock told the sailors the time.

Elbphilharmonie  

lock mile Brunsbüttel

The atrium, the Brunsbüttel lock museum, is located directly at the Brunsbüttel lock system on the Kiel canal. Her you will find display boards, ship models, landscape and functional models, technical objects, video films as well as historical exhibits around the Kiel canal an the locks.

Schleusenmeile Brunsbüttel

Kiel canal

The canal crosses the state of Schleswig Holstein between Brunsbüttel and Kiel-Holtenau with a length of almost 100 kilometers. This federal waterway is the most frequented artificial waterway for seagoing ships worldwide.

Kiel canal

Rendsburg

In the heart of the city, on the map still recognizable as an island, lies the old town city center. It was built in the 13th cenury next to the Reinholdsburg, which was then on the present castle square. The old trade route, the so called "Ochsenweg", led over the island past the castle and market place to the south to the Elb.

Rendsburg

Kiel city hall

After four years of construction emperor Wilhelm II conserated the Kiel city hall on 12th November 1911. Its 106 meter high tower is reminiscent of Venice's Campanile - a concession to Wilhelms taste.

city hall Kiel  

naval memorial

The silhouette of the naval memorial, which can be seen from afar, characterizes the face of Kiels outer fjord with its tower rising 85 meters above the baltic sea.

naval memorial

Heiligenhafen with its marina

The 5-star rated harbor offers not only sailors a beautiful, maritime environment. Here, the boat and yacht owners find the best conditions with well-maintained sanitary facilities, sophisticated barbecue areas and a very good selection of water sport activities, the harbor lies in a fantastic location between the beach and the old town.

marina Heiligenhafen

Holstentor Lübeck

The Holstein gate is probably the best known and most important preserved city gate of the late middle ages in Germany. It was built between 1464 and 1478 by the Lübeck master builder Hinrich Helmstede in the course of a modernization of the fortifications on the Trave city side.

Holstein gate